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Agency plans to isolate, track, and prevent bacteria that are resistant to antibioticsWEDNESDAY, July 23, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Tougher measures to control antibiotic resistance need to be taken in the coming years, to avoid the possibility of it becoming the "next pandemic," the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

During an event at the National Press Club, CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., said the agency plans to isolate, track, and prevent bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics in hospitals, USA Today reported.

Frieden also addressed recent safety lapses at U.S. government labs, which included the discovery of live samples of anthrax and a cross-contaminated strain of avian flu, USA Today reported. The incidents prompted the CDC to shutter two of its research labs and vow to strengthen its lab-safety regulations. Frieden reiterated that no one was exposed to any pathogens and that the agency continues to work on improving lab safety, according to the newspaper.

"If you work with dangerous organisms day after day, month after month, year after year, sometimes there is a tendency to get lax," Frieden said, according toUSA Today. "What we have to ensure is that though human error may be inevitable, we should do everything in our power to make sure that…there will not be human harm."